My Online Discount Broker and How I started

I chose OptionsHouse. I wanted a reliable libertarian style broker (which let you do what you wanted and charged readily apparent fees) with low trading cost. I looked at other brokers such as Sogotrade (because of their $3 trades) and three larger discount brokers for active traders...and the more expensive brokers such as Scottrade. I started by reading all the online broker reviews I could. I found that people were generally disappointed with Sogo trade's customer service, some complained about slow trade execution, and others questioned the reliability of their platform (one customer reportedly lost $1000 into thin air). The other three brokers I mentioned required minimum deposits around $10,000. I wanted to invest $2000 in stocks, initially. So although they had great fees I couldn't use them. OptionsHouse has relatively low fees of $4 so I opened with them. They are highly rated and when I contacted customer service they were very nice. A definite plus in the virtual trading account they give you. I haven't made a real trade yet, but have already learned one lesson: go with what you believe. If you think gold is going to go lower, and you don't have the time to monitor the market every day, don't try to "catch the falling knife" and make short term trades. Also, don't be unrealistic. You can day trade if you don't try to maximize your earnings and play it safe, because if you want to wait to the very top of a peak to sell, you had better have experience and the time to look at the markets alot. So I lost $150-200 of virtual with a 3X Gold Bull ETF...hence the lesson. And I am still bearish on gold but I am not going to short it now since its already pretty low. If I had started trading when it was $1,600 I would definitely have shorted it.

I actually got into trading because I know it is a great investment if done properly. I was looking at Tesla Motor's stock and was going to buy once I set up a brokerage account, but was too lethargic. I saw the stock rise from $25 to $114 in the space of a month or two. If I had jumped on board earlier I would have purchased the stock because I believe in that company. Now, I think the price is too high. Unless they get really big at most it could triple, and this will take a few years I think. I think the current danger is maybe price going down. But Tesla investors seem pretty tenacious.

But what do I know? I'm just a Novice.